


Laughing It Off

by walkingsaladshooter



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Bromance, Bromance to Romance, F/M, Gen, Sass & Banter, drinking buddies
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-04-12
Updated: 2014-01-09
Packaged: 2017-12-08 05:57:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,739
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/757863
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/walkingsaladshooter/pseuds/walkingsaladshooter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A series of one-shots and short pieces about Toph and Sokka - sometimes friends, sometimes lovers, forever bros. Pieces aren't chronological or necessarily in the same timeline; each chapter is an independent work. Rated mostly for language, occasionally for light sexual content.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 01

Toph's home in the Fire Nation Capital had been constructed exactly to her specifications, considering that she had earthbended it into being herself, but she had still left herself a wide expanse of yard behind the house for when she was angry. She had a tendency to bend when she was angry, and it was easier to do so out in the yard rather than deconstructing her bedroom and then having to put it back together later.

She was in the back yard now, enclosed among four slabs of rock that she had torn up from the earth. Sokka could hear her hard little fist knocking against the walls on the inside of her self-made box.

"So are you going to tell me what happened, or do I have to sit here and guess?" he called.

"Go away, piss-head."

She was especially angry, then. Toph's usual nicknames for Sokka ran along the lines of meathead, dumbass, and occasionally an affectionate tossing-out of snoozles, but she only deviated further into vulgar language when she was particularly upset. "Well," he said carefully, testing the waters, "I'm assuming nobody got hurt, or else you'd be out somewhere wreaking havoc instead of pouting in a box."

One of the slabs of rock shot back down into the earth, revealing Toph crouched and leaning against one of the back corners. Her face was flushed and her knuckles red from pounding against the wall. "I. Am not. Pouting."

Sokka sat down cross-legged on the ground across from her. "Then what do you call this? Flustered fuming in a box? Aggravated knuckle-wounding in a box? Seriously, Toph, you might want to stop that," he said as she punched the rock wall one last time before slumping to the ground. "You're tearing up your hand."

"I don't care." The harsh current was still running through her voice, but as she had slackened her posture, so her voice weakened. A little. "I hate this stupid body."

That caught him off-guard. "What are you talking about?" he asked. "You have one of the most incredible bodies of anyone I know." She sat up very straight at that, and he quickly added, "No, not like that! I mean, not that you're _not_ like that, but---"

"Get to the point, dumbass," she hissed.

Sokka sighed. "I'm sorry. I meant that you're powerful. Greatest earthbender in the world, remember? You're this tough little nugget of awesome. And I know you don't care about what you look like, so what are you talking about?"

She tilted up her head so that she was facing him directly. "You want to know what's wrong? You really wanna know what's wrong?" Her voice was pitching up, and she clambered to her feet, one hand splayed against the slab of rock beside her. "You really want me to tell you what's wrong with me, shit-head?"

"Um..." Sokka clenched his hands together. "Yes?"

"I got my _period_ ," she said, spitting it out at first, then drawing out the last word in perfect, fluid enunciation.

She also punctuated the word by swinging down her hand that had been against the rock wall. The remaining three walls vanished into the earth, but not as neatly as she could have done it; Sokka shut his eyes and winced at the fine shower of pebbles that rained over him.

"It's asinine," Toph went on. "I make it through fifteen years of my body always helping me, always doing what I needed it to, and now it goes and betrays me like this." Her teeth gritted and her hands curled into fists and she tossed back her head to growl, bellow, rage at the sky.

Sokka waited until she was done, then brushed pebbles off his knees, cleared his throat lightly, and said, "Do you think you might be blowing this out of proportion?"

With a blustering sigh, Toph slouched over and sat down next to Sokka. "I wish Suki was here," she muttered.

"So do I," he said, lolling his head back and wistfully closing his eyes. Then a tiny pinching pain in his upper arm snapped him back. "Ow! What was that for?"

"That's not what I meant," Toph said. "Besides, I think you can handle waiting another couple weeks to get your smooching action on. _My_ problem won't exactly wait."

Sokka rubbed his arm and peeked over at Toph hopefully. "I didn't know you liked Suki that much."

"Of course I like Suki. She's a badass. The only person around here I can talk to about this is Katara, and she'd just blah blah on about ~being a woman~ and ~womanliness~ and how ~wonderful~ this is for me." Toph dropped her mouth open and stuck a finger into her mouth, gagging. "Spare me. Suki's a warrior. I'm sure she understands how much this sucks. I have more important things to be worrying about than a bunch of blood shooting out from between my legs!"

"Well," Sokka said, "it doesn't really shoot out."

They sat in silence for a moment. It was nearing dinnertime; Sokka could smell something delicious in the air wafting over on the breeze from the house next door. His stomach grumbled.

Then Toph turned to face him, her head angled to the side. "You know, you're being awfully casual discussing this. I would've expected you to be freaking out more."

"Pfft." Sokka waved a hand in the air. "Suki did a pretty good job of knocking any of the ickies out of me. Plus when Katara got hers, she wouldn't shut up to me about it." He clasped his hands together and pitched his voice up slightly in an imitation of his sister. "'Oh Sokka, I feel so much more in tune with my bending! It's like the moon is inside me!' Bleagh. Does she not get how creepy that is?"

Toph laughed, her high, tripping laugh that came from a combination of mirth and validation of being proven right. "I knew she'd be like that."

"She totally is. Don't even tell her." He leaned forward to look her in the face, scanning for traces of residual rage. "D'you think you've cooled down more or less?"

"Yeah, yeah, I've cooled down. I'm still pissed, but what am I going to do?" Toph sighed and reached her arms high over her head, making a little pleased noise as she stretched. "I guess I could go drown my sorrows in a good dinner."

"And a couple good drinks."

"Hell yes. Are you buying?"

"I suppose so, on the occasion of your ~womanhood.~ Ow! - Toph, that _hurt_."


	2. 02

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A series of one-shots and short pieces about Toph and Sokka - sometimes friends, sometimes lovers, forever bros. Pieces aren't chronological or necessarily in the same timeline; each chapter is an independent work. Rated mostly for language, occasionally for light sexual content.

Toph had never had steamed peppers before. Raw ones, occasionally; roasted ones, often. But never steamed.

She held it by the stem, since the pepper itself was piping hot from the steam basket. "Go on," Aang said. "They're great." Toph grimaced, then brought the pepper to her lips and took a bite.

Hot juice burst into her mouth from within the pepper. She blanched at first; but the flavor was delicate, the flesh of the pepper tender. "Huh," she said around her mouthful. "This is really good."

"Isn't it? I love how they kind of burst in your mouth." She heard Aang chomp off what was probably half a pepper.

Toph took another bite. There was no explosion of juice this time, but the tender texture and the gentle flavor were still there. "And these aren't even seasoned," she noted.

"Right. Air nomads like to cook without too many spices or herbs. We like to let the natural flavors of the foods come through. That's why we cook everything so gently. It brings out the flavor without destroying the nourishment."

Toph felt disdain from Sokka's general direction. "It's not bad," he said. "But give me a skewer of grilled seal meat any day."

"Really?" Toph tried to keep her expression neutral, but she pointedly turned her face toward Sokka. "I thought you'd enjoy hot juices bursting into your mouth."

There was a choking sound and a tremor that was most likely an attempt to hide laughter from Aang; Sokka let out a grunt. "You're being an asshole," he said.

"What other explanation could there be?" Toph said, feigning innocence. "You broke up with Suki six months ago, and you haven't macked on a single girl since. All I can figure is you're playing for the other team now."

Sokka was fuming now. "What exactly is your problem?"

"Whatever." Toph waved a hand dismissively in Sokka's general direction. "I'm just teasing you, meathead."

"Well it isn't funny. Maybe there just hasn't been anyone who's caught my eye like Suki."

Toph heard the undercurrent of pain in Sokka's words, and she wilted a little. She had meant to jab at him, yes, but not enough to actually wound him. Okay, maybe a little. But not that much. What was more, she could detect the lie in his words as well. Interesting.

"You're right," she said. "I'm sorry. Why don't you and me have walkies, get some fresh air, and cool our heads while Aang gets the next round ready?"

Sokka grumbled, but he stood up. Toph stood as well, making her way across the stone floor the front door. "Don't be too long!" Aang called after them. "Katara will be back any minute, and then we're having steamed duka leaves!"

Once the door had shut behind them, Sokka sighed noisily. "Bless Aang's soul," he said, "or, um, souls, but I hate air nomad food. I really, really do."

"Eh, it's not bad." Toph began walking down the street; Sokka fell into step beside her. "I really am sorry for going over the line," she said.

"It's all right, I guess. It's just - Suki and I were together for years, y'know? It's not like I'm going to get over her over night."

"Of course not. I'm just wondering who's caught your eye." Sokka spluttered for a moment. "I can tell when you're lying," she reminded him.

"Shitting damn it." He sighed. "Okay, so yes, someone caught my eye. But it's nothing I'm going to pursue."

"Why not?"

Another noisy sigh. "It's complicated," he said.

"You're sighing a lot. How complicated?"

"Like... Like I would mess up something really good if I pursued it."

Toph felt a little twinge somewhere in her core. "So it's somebody you know."

"Not necessarily."

"Lying."

"Ugh, okay, fine, yes. Can we drop it? I'd rather not talk about it."

Toph stopped walking. She felt Sokka continue on for a few steps, then stop and turn toward her. "Come here," she said.

"Why? I thought you wanted walkies."

"Just come here, assface."

She said it affectionately, though, and he walked back to her, standing in front of her. "What's up, Toph?"

She could feel the heat radiating from his body. He was always so warm. She figured it was a natural side effect of living in a polar climate one's entire life.

A little twinge of uncertainty from him. "Toph?"

Go for the guts, then. She reached up, grabbing either side of his face between her hands, and pulled his face down. She kissed him somewhere to the side of his mouth, then tilted his head in her hands to kiss him properly. He didn't respond; he had gone stock still, but Toph kissed him with all the enthusiasm she could muster.

When she let go of his face and stepped back, she realized her cheeks were flaming hot. Sokka made a strange noise. "So," Toph said. "Now can we talk about it?"


	3. 03

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Three snippets of Life With Tokka.

**01.**

 Sokka forgets, sometimes, just how strong Toph is. Physically, anyway. He's well aware of her many other strengths: her unparalleled earthbending, her indomitable will, her sheer force of personality. But he often still thinks of her, physically, as the tiny, tiny girl he first knew. She's grown now, filled out, cut lean with muscle, but he still forgets.

 And so when he's lying on top of her and kissing her and pulling the cloth band out of her hair so he can run his fingers through it (or, considering the texture of her hair, tangle his hands in it), he's surprised when she shifts her weight, grips her hands on his sides, and suddenly flips them over so she's on top, straddling him and grinning down at him. Sokka blinks. Her hair is falling down around her face, and she's actually "looking" slightly above his head; but something in her grin sends a very pleasant sort of chill down his spine.

 "My turn," she purrs, and she hooks her fingertips under the waistband of his pants.

 

 

  **02.**

 Toph likes the mornings after. She likes waking up with a thin layer of tackiness on her skin from last night's stale sweat, the smell of their bodies in the sheets, the lazy feeling as she shifts, makes little comfortable noises like a kitten, and nuzzles her head against Sokka's shoulder. She can feel morning sunlight on her bare back, and her fingers trace the lines and shapes of Sokka's chest and abs while he mutters something indecipherable in his sleep.

 Sometimes she half rolls onto him and strokes his face until he wakes up, or, in more playful moods, burrows down under the covers and gives him a very pleasant wake-up call indeed. But some mornings she just lies next to him, savoring the smell of him (which she has trouble describing, really, but it's just so very Sokka that it makes her feel home and good and strong) and the warmth of his body. She wonders sometimes if it's a byproduct of growing up in the South Pole that he has such radiant body heat.

 Eventually he wakes up, and on the mornings when she's just lying there with him, they always start the day off tenderly. He puts one arm around her shoulders and kisses the top of her head; she sighs softly and drapes her arm across his middle. He traces up and down her arm with his fingertips, and she smiles and crosses her feet over his.

 Then she sits up (letting the sheet slide down around her hips because she knows it titillates him and she never seems to be able to stop finding that amusing), crawls over him, and gives his ass a smack as she says, "Go make eggs, assface." And he grabs her wrists as she stands up, pulls her in, and kisses her before he gets up to make them breakfast.

 She dresses slowly, smiling to herself. She leaves her hair down until after breakfast.

 

 

  **03.**

 They still fight, of course. Neither of them can quite imagine life without spats between the two of them. But at least half the time, there's a undercurrent of playfulness to their arguing. They keep one another on their toes, and they both like that.

 It's the same in bed. Toph likes to be on top at least as often as Sokka does, and she's constantly coming up with new things to try, even if they don't work out so well. (Like that time in the chair, when Sokka eventually just said, "Toph, let's go back to the bed, okay?" in a rather pained tone, and she fumed and kept her back to him for a full ten minutes, by which point they had to start all over again.) Other times, however, they make things so much better. (Like the time she insisted he take her up against the wall, which ended up earning many repeat performances.) And where Sokka lacks in innovation, he makes up for in what is, to Toph, an unparalleled ability to lavish attention on her pleasure instead of making his own experience his sole focus.

 This is what they like about one another. They balance each other. When Sokka wakes up in the middle of the night sicker than he's ever been, Toph guides him to the water closet so he doesn't have to waste time lighting the lanterns. When Toph craves cake (which is always, really), Sokka can bake some without the cake turning into a brick or the entire house going up in flames. And when one of them is being an idiot (a skill which both of them have fairly perfected), the other doesn't hesitate to point it out.

 And that's why, when Sokka says, "I love you, Toph," and she says, "I love you too, shithead," they know that everything is exactly as it should be.


End file.
